


Super Smash Bros. Apocalypse

by AceDelta12



Series: Super Smash Bros. Apocalypse [1]
Category: Super Smash Brothers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 15,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26487277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceDelta12/pseuds/AceDelta12
Series: Super Smash Bros. Apocalypse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925644
Kudos: 5





	1. Welcome, Apocalypse

Mario sat on his blood-stained bed, thinking to himself. As usual, he thought about the past.

Many people had their own perspectives of what had happened. A few believed that it was actually an improvement.

But to Mario, only one description was accurate.

The world had ended.

Some of the fighters had survived. They transformed the former hangar of the Great Fox into their base. But despite the advanced security, everyone was on high alert lest either Galeem or Dharkon attacked again.

Not even the Mii Fighters were safe. They nearly went extinct. It was rare to even  **see** a Mii Fighter nowadays.

He laid down on the bed as his thoughts slowly drifted to the fight against Galeem and Dharkon.

He wondered what would have happened had either Galeem or Dharkon, or both of them, had been defeated.

“Sheesh.” Mario said to himself as he got up. “Why is it that every time I think to myself, I inevitably think about what could have been? What’s done is done. I can’t do a damn thing to change that. Yet my mind thinks I somehow can.”

He scooped up his Beam Sword from the nightstand. “Maybe doing something other than lying here will help me abandon my thoughts.”

He left the room and walked down the main hallway toward the meeting room.

When he entered, there were a few fighters in the room, each doing their own thing.

Mario was unanimously voted as the leader of the Surviving Fighters, one of the clans of fighters from Super Smash Bros. who banded together in order to survive the organized chaos put together by Galeem and Dharkon. Other clans had formed in other places, but the Surviving Fighters were the largest and most famous of them all. Every now and then, someone struggled their way to their base, and were immediately taken in.

Mario went to one of the file cabinets and opened it. He pulled out a document labeled “HOW IT ALL ENDED” and began to read.

“On November 1st, 2019, the Super Smash Bros. fighters fought the angel of light, Galeem, and the king of darkness, Dharkon.” he read aloud to himself. “Just as they thought they had the victory, the two gods were restrengthened by a floating cyan fire.”  
He looked at the image of Galeem, Dharkon, and the blue fire, then continued reading. “The newfound strength of Galeem and Dharkon was too much for the fighters to overcome, resulting in the most cataclysmic defeat in Super Smash Bros. history. Galeem and Dharkon then released every ounce of energy they had, which ravaged the planet and turned the world dark. It is marked as the end of Super Smash Bros. and the rise of the apocalypse. To whoever reads this, we wish you the best of luck in your survival.”

He closed the document and put it back on the shelf.

“Mario.” Mega Man said through a hologram. During the battle, Falco had managed to salvage Mega Man’s head, which they plugged into the main computer as soon as it was ready. Mega Man became an AI, which aided with anything the fighters needed, and maintained control over all electronics. “Two Mii Gunners are approaching the base.”

“Mii Gunners? Pull up the security feed.” Mario said.

“On it.” Mega Man said.

The hologram changed to live feed of security footage.

“Good god, it’s Sans and Proto Man!” Mario said.

“Wait, wait. Did you just say ‘Sans?’” Falco asked.

“Yes! Open the door and get them in as fast as possible!”  
“You just said ‘as fast as possible’ to a pilot whose ship can break the sound barrier.” Falco said.

“Just do it!” Mario said. “We don’t want to lose them any sooner than we have to!”

Falco ran to open the base’s main door.

“Get someone to help Proto Man!” Sans said. “He needs serious help!”

“What about you?” Falco asked.

“Bird, I have one hitpoint. I’m either perfectly fine or dead. Proto Man is the one who needs attention!”

They brought Proto Man in and rested him in a corner.

“Proto Man.” Mega Man said somberly as his hologram appeared.

The Mii looked at the hologram. “Mega Man. Been too long, huh?”

“Far too long.” Mega Man said. “I thought I lost you.”

“Well, just when you think someone’s gone, bam. There he is.” Proto Man said.

“Mario was acting the same way about Sans.” Mega Man said.

Proto Man struggled to get up.

“Proto Man, what are you doing?” Mega Man asked.

“I want to be able to feel you again.” the Mii responded. “To hold you.”

“What are you getting at?” Mega Man asked.

“Watch and see.” Proto Man said. “Samus, ya got a spare Varia Suit?”

Samus, already in her primary Varia Suit, went to her bedroom. “What colors?”

“Blue and cyan.” Proto Man responded.

Samus wheeled out her blue and cyan Varia Suit.

“Mario, can you plug Mega Man’s head into this suit?” Proto Man asked.

Without another word, Mario fitted a cable to the back of the blue Varia Suit.

“Brace yourself, Mega Man.” Mario said as he held the other end to Mega Man’s salvaged head.

“I’m ready.” Mega Man said.

Mario plugged the cord in, and Mega Man’s hologram disappeared.

The cord glowed blue as Mega Man’s AI was transferred from the computer to the Varia Suit.

When the cord was black again, Mario unplugged it.

Proto Man walked up to the Varia Suit. “Mega Man? Are you online?” he asked.

No response.

“Did it work?” Samus asked.

The helmet’s screen started to flicker blue. “Downloading MegaMan.EXE.” they heard. It then beeped in norse code as the download continued.

“MegaMan.EXE compatible with VariaSuit.EXE. Combining codes.”

More norse code. The fighters began to grow tense.

“Code created: VariaMan.EXE.” the suit finally said. “Launching code: VariaMan.EXE.”

The suit began thrumming as the new code was loaded.

The helmet screen stopped flickering as it shined bright blue.

The helmet slowly panned across the room then looked down at its hand as its fingers clenched into a fist. It held its arm cannon in its hand and cocked it.

It looked back at the group.

“Um...Varia Man?” Proto Man asked.

The suit looked down at Proto Man. “Hello, Proto Man. It feels good to have physical form again.”

The crowd cheered, Falco and Sans fist-pumping the air.

Proto Man hugged Varia Man. “Good to have you back, buddy.”

Varia Man hugged his best Mii friend. “Good to have you back, too.”

He looked at Samus, who gave him a respectful nod.

“You might still wish to address me as Mega Man.” Varia Man said to the group. “I will not stop you. Just know that my official name is now Varia Man.”


	2. Metal and Flesh Collide

The ground began to shake.

“What the hell?!” Samus said.

“What in the Power Star’s name is going on?!” Mario shouted. “What’s causing that shaking?!”

“I’ll check it out.” Sans said. “If I don’t come back in, something’s seriously wrong.”

Just as he went out, something exploded.

“Sweet lord!” Sans yelled as he poked his head back in. “What the hell are _two_ Ridleys doing here?!”

“You’re kidding me.” Falco said. “I’ll deal with them.”

“Not without me you’re not.” Samus said. “Varia Man, you’re welcome to help.”

The four of them ran outside to confront the Ridleys, only to discover that it was Ridley fighting against Meta Ridley.

“About time!” Ridley said. “Help me fight this excuse of a doppelganger!”

“ _You’re_ the doppelganger!” Meta Ridley yelled, his voice metallic and raspy.

Metal clashed against flesh, and the two dragons crashed onto the ground, Meta Ridley on top.

Just as Meta Ridley was about to slit Ridley’s throat open, the metal dragon took a Gaster Blaster to the face, launching him twenty feet away.

“It was the same deal with Sonic and Metal Sonic.” Sans said as he recharged the Blaster. “Metal can’t beat nature.”

“Meta Ridley.” Samus said. “Back. Down. **Now**.”

“You’re siding with this jerk?” Meta Ridley said as he got back up. “That’s not normal, coming from you.”

“You’re both jerks.” Samus countered. “I’m just siding with the one who’s **less** of a jerk.”

“Ridley.” Varia Man said. “Might wanna get over here before it hits the fan for you again.”

“Not sure why there’s **two** of you, Samus, but okay. Better than two of me.”

“Actually, Mega Man’s electronic code was transferred into this Varia Suit.” Sans said. “I’ll explain it later. Right now, we have a metal dragon to melt down.”

“ **You’re all dead**!!!” Meta Ridley screamed as he leapt at the team, but a five-on-one match proved too much for the metal dragon.

In the end, Ridley completely melted down Meta Ridley, ridding the world of the metal doppelganger once and for all.

Meta Ridley screamed as he burned, his sheer voice cracking Varia Man’s helmet screen.

“Varia Man! Are you alright?!” Samus asked, concerned.

“I’ll be fine. View’s a bit cracked, that’s all.” Varia Man reassured Samus.

Despite his reassurance, Samus couldn’t help but feel concerned for him.


	3. The Three Little Savages

On the other side of the planet, another faction, far smaller than the Surviving Fighters but no less important, continued to wreak havoc for Galeem and Dharkon’s forces.

Daisy smashed four Primids with her giant mallet. “How many of these damn Primids are left?!”

Rosalina reloaded her Desert Eagle. “More than enough. Just keep swinging.”

“Leave these Primids to me.” Peach said, pulling out a pair of long swords. “I’ll deal with them.”

“Hack away, Peach.” Rosalina said.

Daisy hefted her mallet onto her shoulder. “We got your back.”

Peach nodded to her allies, then let out a loud screech as she slashed at the Primids, spraying blood all over her swords and face.

Daisy swung her mallet like her life was going to end in a few minutes, while Rosalina floated above the battlefield, raining fire with her Desert Eagle and a minigun she picked up off the corpse of one of the Scope Primids.

After an intense bloodbath, the last Primid of the battle was finally killed.

Peach pulled her bloody swords out of the Sword Primid’s head that lay before her.

“Are we gonna have to fight more of these tomorrow?” Daisy complained as she leaned on her mallet.

“Likely.” Rosalina said as she floated to the ground.

“I’m getting bored of these Primids. I wanna fight something new, for crying out loud!” Daisy said.

“Cool your jets, Daisy.” Peach said. “While I agree with you that the Primid fights are getting rather repetitive, we don’t want to rush into something that we might be unprepared for.”

“You’re just saying that so we don’t go and fight something else.” Daisy said, hefting her mallet onto her shoulder. “Well, I’m gonna go find someplace that’s infested with more stuff than just Primids. You in or out, ladies?”

Without waiting for a response, Daisy started walking off into the distance. Rosalina shrugged, then began to walk alongside her after a few seconds.

Peach sighed. “Not without me you’re not!” she said as she ran to catch up with them.

Thus began the great journey of the Three Little Savages.


	4. Enter the Godslayer

Nanashi stirred when he heard his name being called over and over, followed by someone shaking him. “Wake up, dammit!” he heard.

“For God’s sake, Asahi! I’m awake!” he said as he slowly rose to a sitting position.

“That’s a relief.” Navarre said as he floated a little closer to Nanashi. “I was prepared to give you a rude awakening and everything.”

“I **told** you, Navarre, you are not possessing Nanashi and that’s final!” Asahi said, taking off her goggles and smacking the ghost with them.

“Ow!” Navarre complained. “Hey! How should that have affected me? I’m a ghost!”

“Ghosts aren’t immune to pain.” Asahi said with a smug smile. “At least, their egos aren’t.”

“ **Hey**!” Navarre snapped.

“Forget about that, you two.” Isabeau said, grabbing her samurai katana. “Where in the Goddess of Tokyo’s name are we?”

“Well, it’s not Tokyo.” Asahi said. “That much I know. The real question is, **how** did we get here?”

“Where’s everyone else, for that matter?” Nanashi asked.

They looked around, but saw nobody else.

“Well, we still have our smartphones, Nanashi, so we can still summon demons. That’s good.” Asahi said.

“So, where do we go from here?” Navarre asked. “It’s not like we came with a guide.”

“That would have been convenient, but I don’t think anyone we know has been to...wherever this is.” Isabeau said.

“Do we just pick a direction and start walking?” Asahi asked.

“I guess so.” Nanashi said. “How about that gap between those two mountains? That seems like a good start.”

The team began walking in the direction that Nanashi pointed out.

“I’m getting a strange feeling.” Nanashi said as they passed the mountains.

“What would that be?” Isabeau asked.

He looked at her. “One way or another, we’re not going to forget what happens to us here.”


	5. Wario and the Mandalorian

Solid Snake entered the cafe and went to find a place to sit. He went and sat in the corner booth farthest from the door, as usual. He sat alone, as usual.

For the first few minutes, as usual.

“What’s a big-name man like you sittin’ here all alone, eh?” a short, fat man in a denim vest and miner’s helmet said as he casually walked up.

“Hey, Wario.” Snake muttered.

“Just ‘hey?’ C’mon, cheer up, bro!” Wario said as he climbed into the seat across the table from Snake. “Tell ya what--order anything! It’s on me today.”

Normally Snake was a lot more willing to talk with Wario. They were close friends who met shortly before the Subspace Emissary became a thing. Wario had made it out of there, but Snake had been trapped until roughly a year before the apocalypse began. He’d never been the same man since.

“Thanks, Wario.” Snake said. “It means a lot. Really.”

“Hey, no problem. It’s what friends do, eh?”

Snake gave Wario a half smile. “Yeah...friends.”

“Is something going on?” Wario asked. “I may be rich as all hell, but I ain’t immune to emotions.”

Snake looked out the window. “I dunno, it’s just…”

“You can tell me.”

Snake turned back to look at Wario. “Earlier today, I saw this...man. Green armor. Some kind of...fur cape, I guess. Best damn rifle I’ve ever seen. Made me look like a pushover.”

“Hey, you’re no pushover to me.” Wario said. “Who is this man, anyway? I’d like to give him a piece of my mind.”

As if responding to Wario’s sentence, the doors opened. A man strutted in, holding a rifle. Everyone turned to look at him. He turned to stare Snake in the eye before heading to the bar.

“Green armor, fur cape, same rifle...that’s him.” Snake said.

“He doesn’t look tough.” Wario said as he got up.

“No, Wario, wait!” Snake said, trying not to alert too much attention.

Too late, he realized that once Wario’s mind is made up, whatever he wants to do at that moment becomes inevitable.

“Hey. Armor man. Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you, buckethead. Look at me.” Wario said.

The armored man chuckled. “Sure. I’ll give you some attention, mutt.” he said as he turned to face Wario.

“Mutt?!” Wario said. “Do I look like a mutt to you?”

“Well, you’re short. And fat. And you reek to high hell. Sounds a lot like a mutt’s description to me.” the man said before turning away.

Wario leapt onto the table so he could see the man eye to eye. “I’m not here to throw around insults, I’m here because you made my friend look like a pushover! Nobody treats my friends like that!”

The man poked the barrel of his rifle against Wario’s forehead. “Someone does now.”

“Who the hell  **are** you, buckethead?” Wario snapped, pushing the rifle barrel away.

The man pushed it back, harder this time. “Call me a buckethead again, and your friend will wonder why you don’t answer his calls anymore.”

“Okay, fine, fine.” Wario said, backing up a step. “But you never answered my question. Who are you?”

“I don’t reveal my identity until the person talking to me does so first.”

“Fine. The name’s Wario. My friend that you insulted is called Solid Snake, but everyone just calls him Snake. And you?”

The man turned in his seat, staring Wario in the eye.

“I am Fett. Boba Fett.”

Wario raised an eyebrow. “Fett, huh? Are you related to Jango Fett at all?”  
Boba nearly pulled the trigger, then realized Wario meant nothing by asking. So he put the rifle down. “Yeah. He was...my father.”

“What happened? Someone kill him?”

Boba slowly reached for the rifle, but didn’t grab it. He didn’t like answering questions about his past, but at the same time, he could read anyone like a book, even sleemos like Wario. “Yeah. Got his head severed.”

“Yeesh, that’s terrible. Did you hear of it, or were you there?”

“I was there.”

“Yeah, you’re not alone in that boat.” Wario said, to Boba’s surprise.

“Really?” he asked. “How did your father die?”

“Publicly executed for some crime or other by the reigning king of the Mushroom Kingdom. The infamous Princess Peach is his daughter. I was seven years old.”

“Seven years old.” Boba mused. “That’s pretty young to witness the execution of your own father.”

“Yeah, well, I try not to think about it.” Wario said. “Sorry about dragging up the bad memories.”

“It’s alright. They’re inevitable.” Boba said. “Who’s that Snake fellow you mentioned? Is he the one I crossed paths with earlier?”

“Yeah, he’s in the corner booth over there.” Wario said, pointing.

“Cool. Thanks. Now I just need to see if I can cheer him up.”

“I’ve tried paying for anything he ordered, but it didn’t seem to do much.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Catch you later, Wario.”

“See ya.”


	6. Team Up and Take Down

Boba walked over to Snake, sitting down in the seat across from him.

“Hey.”

Snake didn’t respond.

“Okay, if you’re not going to talk, you can at least listen.”

That much, Snake could do. It was one of his greatest assets.

“So, Wario talked to me for a bit, if you haven’t put that together.”

Snake nodded.

“I realize now that just because you’re not a Bounty Hunter, that does not give me any right to treat you like trash.” Boba said. “It makes me look like a moron, and I don’t want that reputation.”

Snake looked up at Boba.

“To make it up to you, I have an offer that I think you’ll like.”

Snake sat up. This certainly interested him.

“There’s a hefty bounty on the head of someone named the ‘Blue Heel.’ Normally I’d go after him alone, but from what I’ve heard, whoever this is has some serious survival skills if he’s lasted so long that the bounty on his head reaches **4.2 billion dollars**.” he said, emphasizing the number to grab Snake’s attention, and the attention of everyone else in the bar.

Snake smiled. “I might know where he’s at.”

“Then we haven’t a moment to lose.”

Snake got up and went to Wario. “Boba and I are taking off. Are you coming?”

“What for?” Wario asked.

“You wanna take on the Blue Heel and get that 4.2 billion?”

“If you know me at all, you’d know I’d want in on that much cash!” Wario said excitedly.

“I figured you would be. Now c’mon. Boba’s already at the door.”

The trio headed out to find the Blue Heel.

None of them knew how much of a fight he’d put up.


	7. The Blue Heel

“Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the Dueling Ring!” Joker said on the loudspeaker. “Here, two combatants will battle for your viewing and gambling enjoyment!”

The crowd cheered as they crammed their way to the fences caging in the two fighters.

“In this corner, a fighter who never tires, a reploid who never rests! I give you, the greatest swordsman of his time,  **ZERO** !”

Loud cheering followed his introduction as Zero walked into the ring, the chained gate closing behind him.

“And in the other corner, a true monster, a living nightmare birthed in flames! None who have faced this feline have escaped in one piece! I give you, none other than our very own Blue Heel,  **INCINEROAR** !”

Equally loud cheering erupted as Incineroar leapt over the chain gate and roared, every inch of red fur on his body a bright blue. Even his burning wrestling belt was blue.

“May the best brawler win!” Joker yelled into the loudspeaker before hitting a bell.

The two combatants began circling each other.

“I’ve torn apart more robots than your advanced mind can count.” Incineroar taunted.

Zero ignited his laser blade. “Don’t even bother with the poetry, kitty. It’s not your strong suit.”

With that, Zero ran at Incineroar, aiming his sword for Incineroar’s throat before changing targets at the last second, slashing at the wrestler’s hip.

Incineroar nimbly dodged out of the way and leg-swept Zero off his feet.

Zero hit the ground but got back up instantly, smashing the hilt of his sword against Incineroar’s shoulder.

Incineroar grabbed his shoulder for a split second, then instinctively used Revenge, as he knew that if a fighter had any brain cells, they’d think he was vulnerable.

Too late, Zero realized what was happening, and Incineroar absorbed his next slash.

Incineroar raced up and grabbed Zero by the sword arm, thrusting him over his back and slamming the reploid on the ground.

Zero flew and slammed into the chain gate, just barely dodging what otherwise would have been a knee to the face.

Incineroar tried to pull his knee out of the fence, but he quickly realized that he was stuck.

He started to freak out as he tried again and again to yank his knee out of the fence, and one of the fans even tried pushing on it from the outside to help. It  **did** help, it just didn’t do enough of the trick to get him out.

All the while, Incineroar felt repeated gashes on his back as Zero continued to slash as his momentarily incapacitated opponent.

Suddenly Incineroar reached back and grabbed Zero’s wrist.

Stunned, the reploid dropped his sword.

Incineroar smiled, picking it up and cutting himself free.

When he was out of the fence, he slowly turned toward his weaponless opponent. “Pity.” he said. “You could not predict that your own weapon was your downfall.”

With a single, vicious stab, he impaled Zero.

The reploid was breathing heavily. His own blade potentially ending his dueling career--this was something he couldn’t comprehend.

He collapsed on the ground, losing grip of the battle for which he had been training for  **years** .

Incineroar smiled. Victory was his.

“Zero is down! Zero is down!” Joker screamed. “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your winner,  **INCINEROAR** !”

Suddenly Snake, Wario, and a man in green armor crashed through the ceiling and landed in the ring.

Zero quickly scrambled out of the ring, eager to get away.

“What’s this?!” Joker said. “Wario and Snake have just entered the ring! And who’s that with them?!”

“Incineroar.” Snake said. “You’ve got a hefty bounty on your head.”

“4.2 billion dollars.” Wario said, grinning. “We’re here to collect.”

“Give up now, and you won’t die.” the armored man said.


	8. Chapter 8

“So, you’ve come to take me in.” Incineroar said. “What, did I beat someone up too badly?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” the armored man said. “You’re coming with us.”

“Tell you what. I’ll fight the three of you one at a time.” Incineroar offered. “If I lose to any of you, you can take me in. But if I win, I go free.”

“All of us at the same time, or you die right now.” the armored man said, pointing his rifle at Incineroar’s muscled torso.

Incineroar prepared a Revenge. “No.”

He activated Revenge just before the armored man pulled the trigger.

Incineroar absorbed the shot and grabbed Snake, throwing him at the armored man, but that still left Wario standing.

Incineroar leapt off the fence and body slammed Wario, but Wario opened his mouth wide, catching the feline.

Incineroar struggled to get himself free as Wario began chewing. He could feel his teeth digging into the gashes Zero had left on his back.

“Get me out of your  **FILTHY MOUTH, YOU STRUNG-DOWN SON OF A TWELFTH HELL** !” Incineroar screamed as he breathed fire inside Wario’s mouth.

Wario screamed, releasing Incineroar from his jaw.

“OW! OW! OW! HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! MY MOUTH’S ON FIRE!” Wario shouted as he ran around.

The armored man held up his wrist. “Toxicity Seven.” he whispered.

A dart came out of the gauntlet on his wrist. Incineroar tried to Revenge it, but when it stuck to him, he passed out.


	9. Clash of Ideals

Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina found a cave not far from the Surviving Fighters base.

“This looks like a good place to set up camp.” Daisy said.

“We’re too close to the Surviving Fighters.” Peach said. “Mario’s been tense around me ever since I rejected him on the moon.”

“We’ve been travelling for hours.” Rosalina said. “We can’t just keep running.”

“This isn’t your decision to make, Rosalina.” Peach snapped.

“Then maybe we should have a change in leadership.” Daisy said, leaning toward Peach.

Peach slowly drew her swords. “Try me.”

Daisy hefted her mallet. “Let’s get this over with.”

She leapt at Peach, the metal of her mallet clashing with Peach’s swords.

Peach jumped up and leapt off the wall, landing smoothly on the head of Daisy’s mallet.

Wasting no time, Daisy heaved the mallet upward, launching Peach behind her.

Peach got up and tackled Daisy, sending the two of them rolling down the mountain.

When they finally stopped, they reached for their weapons, Daisy feeling the bloody side of her head where she smacked a rock about halfway down.

Rosalina floated above the two, willing to serve whoever won this fight. But she knew better than to intervene.

Peach got up first. She held one of her swords to Daisy’s throat.

“Game.” Peach said.

Daisy looked for some kind of advantage. Her mallet was in her right hand, and Peach was standing to her left.

“Five.”

Peach moved the sword away slightly, confused.

“Four.”

She pressed the sword against Daisy’s throat.

“Three.”

Peach brought up the other sword.

“Two.”

Peach lifted up her swords, preparing to sever Daisy’s head.

“ **ONE** !!!”

Daisy heaved the mallet with all her might, crashing it into the side of Peach’s head.

Peach flew and landed forty feet away, leaving a trail of blood.

Daisy picked up her mallet and one of Peach’s swords.

“Time.” she sneered.

Peach saw that there was no way out of this one. Her other sword was still a good twenty-five feet away.

“You just don’t give up, don’t you?” Peach asked.

“Nope. Never have.” Daisy said.

Peach pulled out a dagger the size of her forearm and jabbed it through Daisy’s arm.

Daisy screamed in pain as she dropped her mallet and grabbed her arm where she was stabbed, allowing Peach to grab her swords and get in a fighting position.

“I’m the same way.” Peach said, surprising both Daisy and Rosalina. “It’s how I’ve been able to remain single for as long as I have.”

“In that case, I’m going to go tell Mario that you’re here. See how he reacts.” Daisy said as she pulled out the dagger. “Chances are it’s gonna be fun to watch you two dish it out.”

“See how who reacts?” they heard from behind them.

Daisy turned around to find Mario standing right behind her, arms crossed, a deep glare on his face.

“Nice death stare.” Daisy said. “Did Luigi teach you?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t for you.” Mario said, looking directly at Peach’s eyes.

“It was for  **her** .”


	10. Mario's Monster

Everyone remained silent, with the exception of Rosalina finally deciding to float to the ground.

Mario slowly walked up to Peach. “You ruined me that day.” he said carefully, making sure each and every word he said had a massive effect on the woman he used to love to death and back. “Because of you, I became the man I am now. Because of you, I have turned into a monster.”

He pulled off one of his gloves, revealing a cybernetic hand, which he held up to her face. “Because of you, I now have  **this** ! You left me stranded on the  **MOON** after you rejected me! I had to work together with Bowser to make a spaceship that would actually function, and one of the razor blades  **SEVERED MY HAND** , for crying out loud!”

Peach held a hand to her mouth in surprise.

“Oh, of  **course** you’re surprised!” Mario said, turning away. “I swear, you’re one of the dumbest people on this planet!”

“She didn’t want to stay in the cave I pointed out because it was ‘too close’ to the Surviving Fighters.” Daisy said, making quotation marks with her fingers.

“ **Exactly** !” Mario said to Daisy. “She’s so scared of even facing me after the rejection that she won’t go anywhere near me!”

Mario turned back to Peach. “You’re a weak piece of garbage who doesn’t even qualify to be a princess! I can’t believe I’ve been so  **blind** to this for so long! I should have let Bowser keep you! Rosalina does a better job than you, and she’s not even a princess!”

Peach was chagrined. “Mario, if you could just-”

“ **I HATE YOU** !!!” Mario screamed. “I hate you I hate you I hate you!”

“Mario, please-”

“Just go away!” Mario said. “Go away, and never come back!”

Peach backed up a few steps, then turned and ran, her swords still drawn.

As soon as he could no longer see her, Mario collapsed on his knees and started sobbing, placing his hands on his face.

Rosalina and Daisy knelt on either side of Mario and gently hugged him.

He wiped the tears off his face. “I’m so sorry that you two had to see that.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Rosalina said, taking hold of his cybernetic hand. “You’ll make it through this.”

“Was that difficult to do?” Daisy asked.

Mario sighed. “Very.”

“I’ve had my fair share of painful breakups.” Rosalina said. “Let’s stop fixating on them and just be happy. Forget about Peach.”

Mario slowly looked at Rosalina.

She blushed. “I’ll make you happy.”

Daisy slowly let go, and Rosalina slowly leaned toward Mario and gently kissed his lips.


	11. Godslayer's Princess

“I’m glad those people were able to help us, Nanashi.” Asahi said. “Now we finally have some idea as to where we’re going!”

“Yes, it is good that we finally know where we are, to a certain extent.” Isabeau agreed.

“Didn’t someone say that there was some sort of clan near where we’re at right now? Does the name ‘Surviving Fighters’ ring a bell?” Navarre asked.

“Yeah, I heard it.” Nanashi said.

“It sounds like something similar to the Hunter Association.” Asahi said. “Maybe we should check it out.”

At that moment, a woman in a torn pink dress ran up to them, holding a pair of long swords.

“This one looks like trouble.” Nanashi said, pulling out his sword. “Asahi, prep some demons, just in case things turn south.”

“Way ahead of you.” Asahi said, smartphone in hand.

Before the woman could get in range of anyone’s attacks, she stopped and collapsed on the ground, as if unable to take another step.

“Uhh...Nanashi? What the heck is this about? Who is she?” Asahi asked.

Nanashi slowly walked forward and bent down to one knee. “Hey. You...okay?”

He could hear heavy breathing coming from the woman, otherwise no response.

“Guys, I’m gonna need your help to turn her onto her back.” Nanashi said.

He moved the woman’s swords out of the way, then he, Asahi, and Isabeau slowly turned the woman’s body over, so that she now faced the sky.

She had a blank look on her face. Her eyes almost seemed dead.

“Is she...dead?” Asahi asked, noticing her blank expression.

“She’s definitely not dead. Do you hear her breathing?” Isabeau said.

The woman’s eyes blinked, and she slowly sat up, still breathing heavily.

It was then that Nanashi noticed the blood pouring from a massive gash in the side of her head.

“Are you okay?” Nanashi asked. “Looks like you took one hell of a blow there.”

“Yes.” the woman said, not looking at him. “I’m fine.”

“She seems to be okay physically, but I worry about her psyche.” Isabeau said.

The woman glanced at Isabeau. “I said I’m fine.”

“Well, we’re looking for the Surviving Fighters.” Asahi said. “You know where they’re at?”

“Yes.” the woman said. “I can take you there.”

“Thank you.” Isabeau said. “It’s a big help. By the way, you never told us your name.”

The woman hesitated for a few seconds. “Peach. My name is Peach.”


	12. Hopes and Dreams

Peach wasn’t sure she could trust these people. As far as she knew, none of them had been properly invited to Smash Bros. But she digressed the thought. They seemed lost as all hell. She  **had** to help. No amount of anger toward Mario would stop that.

The boy with the green markings was Nanashi, the girl in the blue mini-dress and the goggles was Asahi, and the samurai woman was Isabeau. There was also a green ghost named Navarre who hung around Nanashi, but at first Peach believed that he didn’t even exist. But later she found them seemingly talking to the air, addressing the air with the same name as that of the ghost, Navarre, so Peach later confirmed to herself that Navarre the ghost was indeed real.

Peach took the group to the Surviving Fighters base.

They saw a small group of people talking amongst themselves.

Peach was tense after what just happened, but she kept herself under control.

“Might wanna brace yourself for a fight, just in case.” she muttered to Nanashi.

In response, he put a hand to his sword’s hilt, ready to pull it out at a moment’s notice.

As they approached, Daisy pointed toward them, and Mario turned and looked Peach directly in the eye.

“I thought I told you to never come back.” Mario said. “Not only are you stupid, you’re also deaf.”

“Huh?” Peach said. “I couldn’t hear you.”

“I told you to leave!” Mario said. “Why did you come back?!”

“I still can’t hear you!” Peach said. “Your ego’s too loud!”

“Rosalina. Kill her.” Mario said. “She’s irritating me. Then again, she was  **always** irritating.”

Rosalina pulled out her Desert Eagle and pointed it at Peach’s forehead. “Don’t take another step.”

The others stopped, but Peach kept walking.

“Did you hear me?” Rosalina asked.

Peach smugly smiled as she kept on walking, pulling out one of her swords.

Furrowing her brow, Rosalina pulled the trigger.

Peach held her sword in front of her diagonally, the bullet ricocheting off the blade and harmlessly plowing into the ground.

Rosalina pulled the trigger again.

Peach moved the sword so that it was pointing straight up, the bullet hitting it and flying off to the side.

Neither deflection slowed her down at all. She continued her dramatic walk toward Mario, casually deflecting each and every bullet that Rosalina fired.

“Step aside.” Mario told Rosalina. “This isn’t working.”

Rosalina obliged, and Mario stepped forward to meet with Peach.

“I thought we could still remain friends.” Peach said, sheathing her sword. “But what you said to me broke my heart.”

“When you rejected me on the moon, that broke mine.” Mario said. “Peach, I loved you. I spent  **years** trying to work up the courage to propose to you, and when I finally did, it was as if our relationship didn’t even exist in the first place.”

“That was because Bowser was interfering with your proposal, and I was in no condition to-”

“ **DO NOT LAY THIS ON BOWSER!** ” Mario abruptly snapped. He breathed for a few seconds, then continued, “I don’t care if Bowser was there or not. That’s no excuse. Besides, there’s plenty of times when multiple guys will fight for the same girl. But that’s not the point. The point is, you took all the effort I had put together to  **finally** propose to you, and you threw it into deep space.”

“What I was  **trying** to say was, I was in no condition to accept the marriage at that moment.” Peach interjected. “I had just been freed from being tied up in  **chains** , and the near-marriage with Bowser was still traumatizing me at the time. I needed a few days to breathe, to put Bowser in the back of my mind.”

Mario turned away, looking at his cybernetic hand. “Well, what’s done is done. Things have happened, and now I got this.”

“I wish I could change things so that you didn’t have that metal hand.” Peach said somberly. “But we can’t turn back the clock.”

Mario’s eyes half-closed. “No, we can’t.”

He turned back to her. “But...maybe we can wind it up again.”

“How would it work, Mario?” Peach asked. “You said it yourself. I’m a weak piece of garbage who doesn’t even qualify to be a princess.”

She huffed. “And Daisy’s already taken, so…”

She looked at him. “Rosalina. She’s the one for you.”

Peach turned away.

Mario glanced at Rosalina, and she nodded emotionlessly.

“I suppose.” Mario said. “But there’s one last thing I want to ask you before it ends for us.”

Peach turned around, almost crying.

Mario bent down one one knee and picked a small white flower that was growing between them.

He reached up to offer it to Peach. “Will you marry me?”

Peach slowly took the flower. “I...yes. Yes I will.” she said.

Mario stood on his toes, kissing Peach’s lips.

When they broke the embrace, Mario stood on the soles of his feet, smiled warmly, and began coughing uncontrollably as a pool of blood poured from his mouth.

Everyone panicked as Mario collapsed unconscious on the ground.

“Oh my god, oh my god,  **oh my god** !” Peach shouted. “Get him inside!  **Now** !”

They picked up Mario and carried him inside, setting him down on the nearest bed in the medical center.

“What’s going on?” Zelda asked in shock.

“No time to explain, Mario needs life support,  **ASAP** !” Daisy said.

Less than thirty seconds later, Mario was put on life support.

A plastic tube was put in his mouth to drain the pool of blood that was still forming.

“He’ll need extra blood.” Peach said worriedly. “What are we going to do?”

“First, we have to try and figure out what the hell went wrong.” Zelda said. “What got Mario into this state in the first place? Were there any warning signs prior? What did he do?”

“Outside the base, he...he proposed to me. Offered me a white flower he picked from the ground.”

“A...white flower? Can I see it?” Zelda asked, pulling on some doctor’s gloves.

Peach pulled out the flower Mario had given her. “Here it is.”

Zelda slowly took the flower, examining it. “I’ll flip through the files on different flowers. Hopefully we’ll find out what this is.”

She turned on a computer and flipped through files until she found the “PLANTS” file. From there, she scrolled through each plant one by one, to no avail.

Nonetheless, Zelda kept trying.

“Oh, Mario…” Peach said. “We’ll figure out what’s wrong with you, and we’ll bring you back to life.”

She gently kissed his nose. “I promise.”

“Do you know if he’s going to be okay?” Rosalina asked.

“I’m no doctor, Rosalina, but I know the situation is extremely dire.” Peach said. “I have my fingers crossed.”

Daisy could only shake her head somberly.

“We have it!” Zelda abruptly said. “We have a match!”

“What type of flower is it?” Peach asked.

“It’s an extremely rare and extremely  **poisonous** flower called the ‘Little White Lie.’” Zelda said. “The Little White Lie is covered, stem to petal, in lethal toxins, which, if touched, it will send throughout the person who touched it. Side effects include fainting, blindness, blood saliva, and in some cases, mild paralysis.”

“Well, the fainting and blood saliva have lived up to expectations.” Daisy said.

“Yes, those two are often the first symptoms. They surface mere moments after initial contact.”

“Wait a second, Mario gave the flower to me.” Peach said. “Yet I’m unharmed. There’s something that the flower won’t affect.”

“Yes, you’re absolutely right.” Zelda said. “If the research is correct, all species of  **fungi** have naturally-developed immune systems that prevent the Little White Lie from killing them off, which explains why there’s so few of them left. I’m surprised you found one in the first place.”

“Fungi have immunity to the flower...and my castle is filled to the brim with Toads...that would explain why the flower didn’t affect me.” Peach said. “I’ve been around sentient fungi for so long in my life that some of their abilities must have rubbed off on me.”

“That’s the only logical explanation.” Zelda said. “The Toads are technically a species of fungi, so it’s only natural that some of their abilities spread to other living creatures. Unfortunately, it seems that Mario has not interacted with the Toads enough. He probably didn’t even know the Little White Lie existed. Not until he passed out.”

Mario chose that exact moment to finally wake up.

His eyes slowly opened, and he looked to his left, toward Peach.

“Peach…” he mumbled.

She was at his side an instant later.

“Mario…” she said.

His hand slowly came up to take hold of hers. “It’s hard to move.” he managed.

“And there’s the mild paralysis.” Zelda said.

“Is there a cure to the Little White Lie?” Peach asked.

“Something fungi-related, but the data isn’t complete.” Zelda responded. “Extensive research needs to be done in order to create a proper cure.”

“Are the other side effects done?” Daisy asked.

“Most of them.” Zelda said. “Only the paralysis and blindness remain.”

“Wait, so, Mario can’t see?” Peach asked.

“No, not until he is cured.” Zelda said. “The sooner we get this cure, the better.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Mario asked. “Someone get me into a wheelchair or something.”

A wheelchair was prepared, and Peach slowly lifted Mario off the bed, setting him down comfortably on the wheelchair.

He paused for a few seconds, snapped his fingers once, then rolled his wheelchair out of the medical room with minimal difficulty.

“C’mon!” Mario shouted. “Let’s go get that cure!”

Peach followed, chuckling to herself.

Mario and the four princesses met up with Nanashi, Asahi, Isabeau, and Navarre, and the nine of them set out to find and/or create a cure for Mario.


	13. The Negative Fire

When Incineroar came to, he was on the floor, surrounded by men in heavy blue robes. And they were chanting.

“Not these guys…” he mumbled.

Off to the side, he could see Snake, Wario, and the armored man admiring the fat pile of cash they just earned.

“Look at all this! I’ve never seen so much money in one place in my  **life** !” Wario remarked.

“This’ll help upgrade my gear.” Snake said, smirking. “It’s about time that happened.”

The armored man, however, glanced at Incineroar, then turned and said something to Snake and Wario.

The Blue Heel’s excellent hearing picked up what he was saying.

“Guys, I love a good payout, I really do. But maybe we did the wrong thing.”

“The wrong thing?” Wario said. “Since when did you care about when things were right or wrong, Boba?”

“Wario has a point.” Snake said. “You’re getting soft. That’s not your reputation.”

“I care about justice.” Boba said. “That’s the one thing above all else that we bounty hunters preserve. What I’m seeing here is that those men in the blue robes set us up to chase down their little science experiment, no offense to Incineroar.”

Incineroar didn’t take any offense from what Boba said.

“We’re  **rich** !” Wario said. “You want to give all that up?!”

“You can keep the cash. I only care about maintaining justice.” Boba snapped. “And I don’t see justice in keeping him detained like this. That’s bordering on slavery.”

“Don’t do what I think you’re going to do.” Snake said.

“You have two choices.” Boba said. “Join me and free the Blue Heel, or die with the robed men.”

Snake and Wario looked at each other.

Incineroar began losing consciousness as the chant continued. He almost felt like going along with it, which is what he figured they wanted.

“I’m in.” Wario said. “As long as I can keep the cash.”

“Have a helluva happy, Wario.” Boba said. “Snake?”

Snake shook his head, sighing to himself. “I’m in.”

Boba activated one of his thermal detonators and hurled it at the robed men. “Incineroar, use Revenge!” he shouted.

Incineroar rapidly stood up and used Revenge right as the grenade exploded, killing the men in blue robes.

When the smoke cleared, Incineroar’s arms were glowing blue from the Revenge stack that he got.

“Well, they ain’t stopping us any longer.” Wario said. “Let’s clean them out of  **everything** that has cash value!”

“That would mean we head to the treasury.” Incineroar said. “Follow me.”

Incineroar led them to the treasury.

“ **WHOA** .” Wario said. “ **Look at this** !”

Inside the treasury, they found countless artifacts worth upward of  **fifty-thousand times** the $4.2 billion Snake, Wario, and Boba were promised if they turned Incineroar in.

“This. Was. Worth it.” Wario said.

“I hope one of us has some sort of infinity sack or something.” Boba said.

“I got it.” Wario said, pulling out a purple sack. “Got tons of these.”

They started putting the artifacts into the sack, and no matter how much they put in, the sack never increased in size or weight from the outside.

Incineroar was about to put an ancient stone tablet into the sack when he noticed what was written on it.

“Guys, check this out.” he said.

When they came over, Incineroar showed them the tablet.

“What is this?” Boba asked.

“What’s the ‘Negative Fire?’” Wario asked.

“You can read those glyphics?” Boba asked.

“I’ve heard that name before.” Snake said. “Incineroar probably knows more about it than me.”

“I do.” Incineroar said. “The Negative Fire is an immensely powerful spirit named Tabuu. After the events of Subspace, he reverted to his original form, a blue fire. Those men were called the Disciples of Subspace. They’d been looking for the Negative Fire for years, and when they heard of a blue Incineroar who had supposedly begun carrying this fire, a.k.a. me, they immediately placed a bounty on my head, setting the reward money at an irresistible value.”

“A spirit named Tabuu...oh no. Wario, do you know what this means?” Snake asked.

“What?” Wario asked.

“Wario, Tabuu is  **alive** !” Snake said.

“Oh god.” Wario said. “That’s not good.”

“I know it’s nuts, but I have interacted with the Negative Fire, and you can see the results for yourself.” Incineroar said. “It’s how my fur turned blue.”

“Does that mean Tabuu has control of you?” Snake asked.

“Not in any way, shape, or form.” Incineroar said. “His focus is turning us into statues, but possessing us is not one of his abilities.”

“So, how do we find this Negative Fire?” Boba asked.

“Well, rumors report that the Negative Fire single-handedly turned the tide of battle in Galeem and Dharkon’s favor.” Incineroar said. “Those who made it out of that battle alive banded together and formed the Surviving Fighters.”

“Maybe they have some information.” Snake said.

“Good idea.” Incineroar said. “But how are we going to get there?”

“My ship.” Boba said. “It’s just outside.”

The four of them, after getting everything with value into the sack, headed out to Boba’s ship, which was named  _ Slave I _ .

Minutes later, _Slave I_ took off, heading for the Surviving Fighters.


	14. Asahi's Cat

As the group of Surviving Fighters (later joined by Sans) journeying for a potential cure to Mario’s sickness reached the mountains, Isabeau noticed something flying toward them.

“Who are they?” she asked, pointing.

“It’s some kind of spaceship.” Daisy said. “Anybody got some kind of flare?”

Nanashi shot a Bufu up in the sky as a flare, and the ship came down.

“That was  **cool** . Anything else to show?” Sans asked.

“Maybe later.” Nanashi said, not getting the pun.

Peach stepped forward, wheeling Mario’s wheelchair with her. She didn’t trust anyone else with him.

“Who are these people?” the man in green armor asked.

“Most of these people I know personally.” Snake said. “The one in the wheelchair is Mario, Peach is the woman behind him, Daisy’s the one in the orange dress, Rosalina’s got the Desert Eagle in her left hand, Zelda’s the woman in the doctor’s outfit, and the short skeleton is Sans. Don’t know the others.”

“Incineroar.” Mario said. “I haven’t encountered you since the battle against Galeem and Dharkon. How have you been?”

“Wait, you can see him?” Daisy asked.

“I lost my sight, not my smell.” Mario said, looking back in her general direction. “Nor my hearing, for that matter. If anything, my remaining senses kicked into overdrive to compensate for my blindness.”

“Mario is blind?” Snake asked.

“Yes. He unknowingly fell victim to the Little White Lie.” Peach said.

“Damn.” Snake said.

“We were on our way to the Surviving Fighters to find information.” the armored man said. “Maybe you can help us?”

“We’re with the Surviving Fighters.” Rosalina said. “We were heading out to find a cure for Mario’s condition.”

“That’s not the important part, though.” Asahi said. “The important part is that  **THERE IS A GIANT CAT IN FRONT OF ME AND I WANT TO HUG IT** !”

She ran up to Incineroar and nearly topped him to the ground trying to give him a bear hug.

“You smell so nice, and your fur is so soft!” Asahi said. “I wanna hug you forever!”

“Not to mention, my championship belt is on fire.” Incineroar said.

Asahi’s face changed drastically.

“ **HELP** !” she screamed, flinging herself off of Incineroar as her mini-dress caught on fire. “ **SOMEONE PUT THIS FIRE OUT** !!!”

“Anyone got an Ice Flower?” Peach asked.

Mario pulled one out, giving it to Daisy. She took it and tightened her grip on it, becoming Ice Daisy.

Aiming carefully, she shot an ice ball at Asahi, which froze her for a few seconds, long enough to put the fire out but not long enough to kill her when the ice shattered.

“Crude, but effective.” Asahi said, wiping the ice fragments off her mini-dress. “Thanks, I guess.”

“No problem.” Daisy said, the timer on her ice powers running out.

“Since  **that** situation is now resolved, we can go back to the task at hand, right?” Rosalina asked.

“Wario and I are all in.” Snake said. “Boba?”

“We will help you with your cure.” the armored man said. “All we ask for in return is information regarding the Negative Fire.”

Mario sighed. “Never again did I think I would hear the words ‘Negative Fire.’”

Before he could give any information, Incineroar suddenly collapsed on the ground in pain.

“Incineroar?!” Snake said.

Incineroar reared back and screamed as a spirit forced itself out of him.

His blue fur turned red once more, and he was severely weakened as the spirit took physical form.

“It feels good to finally be back.” Tabuu said.


	15. Questions Need Answers

“Tabuu’s back?!” Peach said.

“Tabuu?” Mario said, looking up.

The resurrected king of Subspace floated downward, looking at Mario. “Don’t say you don’t recognize me, Mario. I’m flattered to merely be in your presence.”

“I’m blind.” Mario said. “I can’t see a damn thing.”

“Ah.” Tabuu said. “I see.”

He straightened himself, standing at his traditional height of six feet, four inches. “For those here who don’t know, I am Tabuu, lord of Subspace.”

Sans prepared a Gaster Blaster. “I’ve heard all about you. You tried to turn everyone into trophies so that they couldn’t be alive anymore. You tried to force social norms upon us!”

Tabuu remained silent, contemplating.

“Forget this.” Daisy said. “Let’s just walk away before everything gets worse.”

They all entered  _ Slave I _ and flew off.

Except for Incineroar.

He chose to stay behind. He had his own personal questions he needed Tabuu to answer.

“Tabuu.” he said.

“Hello, Incineroar.” Tabuu said, not looking away from the fleeing  _ Slave I _ . “I take it you have questions for me?”

“A few, yes.” Incineroar said. “They’ve been driving me nuts ever since our first encounter.”

“Ask away.” Tabuu said. “I am an entity of wisdom and knowledge, after all.”

Incineroar nodded. “You have over seventy different Smash Brawlers you could choose to bond with. Out of all of them, why did you choose me?”

Tabuu almost chuckled. “Simply put, you found me. Long before your wrestling career even began.”

“You knew about that?”

“I was not able to interact with anyone, but I was aware of what was going on.” Tabuu said.

Incineroar put a hand to his chin in thought. “How did you muster the strength to return? Could you have transformed at any time you wished?”

“If only it were that easy, Incineroar.” Tabuu said. “No, I could only be resurrected if the one who defeated me spoke the words ‘Negative Fire.’”

“Then you shouldn’t have been able to return, right? Everyone says Sonic the Hedgehog defeated you, and he’s dead.”

“True, Sonic the Hedgehog did start the battle that ended with my defeat, and the destruction of my Subspace Emissary, but to be truthful it was Super Mario who delivered the final blow.”

“And all you needed to come back was for Mario to say the words ‘Negative Fire’ and bam.” Incineroar said.

“Precisely.”

Incineroar nodded. “Were you present at the battle against Galeem and Dharkon?”

Tabuu turned toward Incineroar.

“All the reports say that just as it looked like they were going to lose, Galeem and Dharkon were re-strengthened by a floating cyan fire. That  **had** to be you.”

Tabuu seemed deep in thought for a minute. “Yes. I was in attendance when Galeem and Dharkon defeated the Smash Brawlers. But I was unaware that my very presence would re-strengthen them. As if they had something they needed to prove.”

“And did they?”

“They didn’t need to prove anything. They’d already shown remarkable power. I was especially impressed with Galeem and her ability to replace one spirit in a body with another.”

“Imagine the torture on both spirits, though.” Incineroar said. “One spirit undergoes excruciating pain as it’s forced out of its body, and another is tortured by being forced into a body it wasn’t built for.”

“Precisely why I never honed it as one of my abilities.” Galeem said. “Each spirit is designated its own body. But having the ability to manipulate spirits in such a way is impressive, nonetheless.”

They remained silent for a few minutes. Then Tabuu turned toward Incineroar.

“I watched you build your reputation as the Blue Heel.” Tabuu said. “You would be a great ally to have.”

“What’s brought this on all of a sudden?” Incineroar asked.

“Defeating Galeem and ending this apocalypse I have heard many speak of.” Tabuu responded after a second.

Incineroar raised an eyebrow, half surprised that Tabuu may actually be considering joining the cause, and half confused because nobody had spoken to Incineroar about the apocalypse after the fight against Galeem and Dharkon.

“The apocalypse is still going?” he asked.

“Oh, yes.” Tabuu said. “I figured something similar to an apocalypse would happen when Galeem and Dharkon emerged victorious.”

He exhaled. “It has not been my most productive time. I, like the Smash Brawlers, now wish for it to end as soon as possible.”

“Well, until we defeat Galeem and Dharkon, that ain’t gonna happen.” Incineroar said.

“Then I shall join your cause.” Tabuu said. “I shall aid in the inevitable defeat of Galeem.”

Incineroar turned to Tabuu and stuck his hand out. “Then it shall be done.”

Tabuu shook Incineroar’s hand.

Incineroar tried to retreat his arm, but Tabuu held on.

“Just a second.” Tabuu said, closing his eyes.

A few moments later, Tabuu’s body vanished, encompassing Incineroar’s flaming belt, and it and his fur turned blue once more.

“So...you can now transform at will?” Incineroar asked.

“I can.” Tabuu said, his voice echoing. “But in this state, only you can hear me. And I have no control of your actions. But I can improve your abilities greatly.”

“In that case…” Incineroar said.

He leapt to the Surviving Fighters Base in a single super jump.

He saw that  _ Slave I _ had landed. He figured they must have found something to work with for Mario’s cure.

He had no idea that he was being watched.


	16. The Return of Zero

Zero watched Incineroar--the very same Blue Heel who ruined his career--enter the base.

This was his best opportunity to strike. To take back what he had lost.

He leapt down and stood at the front door.

After a few seconds, it opened.

“Zero.” Falco said. “What brings you here?”

Zero scowled. “Where’s Incineroar?”

Falco gestured inside. “Back room. He’s helping create a cure for Mario’s sickness.”

“Thank you.” Zero said, walking inside.

Falco shut the door and turned to look at Zero as he stopped to talk to Varia Man before heading to the medical room.

“Zero. I’m surprised to see you here.” Varia Man said.

“I thought you were dead. Turns out you survived long enough to be transmitted to another body.” Zero said.

“It’s good to see you again, Zero.” Varia Man said.

“You probably have something to be doing.” Zero said. “I don’t want to keep you waiting.”

Varia Man nodded, turning to walk to another section of the base.

Zero watched him leave for a few seconds, then turned back toward his original objective.

He went to the medical room and opened the door, but didn’t walk in.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Where’s Incineroar?” he asked.

Incineroar walked up to Zero.

Zero held out the hilt of his laser blade to Incineroar, offering it to him.

“I...I don’t know why you’re giving this to me.” Incineroar said.

“Just take it.” Zero said, hiding his contempt. “I insist.”

Incineroar slowly reached out to the hilt, and just as he wrapped his hand around it, Zero ignited it, the cyan blade impaling the Blue Heel.

Zero shoved the laser blade in as far as he could, the hilt digging into Incineroar’s torso.

Nobody moved.

Zero removed his laser blade, and Incineroar collapsed to the floor.

Peach pulled out her swords, preparing to avenge Incineroar, when Zero severed her sword’s blades from their hilts as she ran at him.

Mario slowly stood up from his wheelchair--he had already been given the cure Zelda had made despite the abrupt interruption by Zero.

He unclipped his Beam Sword from his belt and looked Zero in the eye. “I will duel you. But not here. There is no room for maneuver.”

Zero shut off his laser blade. “I agree. My only condition: we fight in front of a crowd.”

Mario nodded. “Follow me.”


	17. Chapter 17

Every member of the Surviving Fighters gathered in the arena in the center of the base. The only lights in the large room were pointed at the caged battle ring in the middle of the room.

Zero and Mario entered on opposite sides of the ring.

Zero ignited his blade first. “I wasn’t anticipating your challenge. But that doesn’t mean I’d say no to it.”

Mario ignited his Beam Sword. “You still accepted. And now we’re here.”

They ran at each other, the collision of their blades sending sparks everywhere.

Mario spun around and back slashed Zero, which the reploid redirected, jumping up and bringing his blade downward at Mario’s head.

Mario twisted out of the way, but Zero’s blade still took off his right arm.

Mario screamed in pain as his right arm, holding the Beam Sword, dropped useless to the ground.

Mario bent down on one knee. He tore off the remains of his left glove with his teeth, revealing his cybernetic hand, with which he picked up his Beam Sword.

He stood up, spitting out the glove remnants as he ignited the Beam Sword.

“The time has come.” Mario said. “The time where all illusions must die. Forever.”

“What are you talking about?” Zero asked.

“I was never who you thought I was.” Mario said as his body transformed, his voice becoming more robotic by the second.

“What?!” Zero said.

“You don’t get it?”

“Who even  **are** you?!”

“I’m just like you.”

Zero couldn’t comprehend his words.

“I am a reploid, like you.” Mecha Mario said. “I am Mecha Mario.”


	18. The True Mario

“How is that possible?” Zero said. “It’s impossible for an organic to become a reploid!”

“I did get my cybernetic hand while Bowser and I were crafting our starship, but during the trip, I thought to myself as I stared at my hand.” Mecha Mario said.

He turned and put his cybernetic hand to his chin. “I realized that death was inevitable for mere organic beings. But I wanted to stay alive and protect the world. Forever.

“So when I got back, I created a metal body designed to be identical to my own, at least from the outside. I wasn’t able to get it perfectly right, but I  **was** able to create an alternate solution, which I will get to later.

“When the body was finished, I placed it on the receiving end of a code-transferring machine. I then put myself on the sending end. Dozens of wires connected my old cybernetic hand to the metal body.

“I will not deny that the transfer was painful. It is something I will never forget. But when it was over, I awoke in this body. I was a reploid. I was immortal. I immediately downloaded a code that allowed me to take up a disguise, which made me look like I was still in my old body. Then, thinking ahead, I downloaded a code that would ensure that any part of my body that was dismembered would reassemble itself after ten minutes, such as…”

He turned to look at the broken arm.

It started to fix itself.

When it had finished fixing itself, Mecha Mario picked it up. “This.” He attached it back to his shoulder, then continued.

“Those two codes would ensure that I hid my secret, and also ensured that on the off chance that I was found and destroyed, I would not be killed.”

“What about the condition you were in?” Zero asked. “I was told you suffered from the Little White Lie.”

“I initially did not realize I had touched the Little White Lie, but as soon as I recognized the flower, I was successfully able to fake some of the symptoms. I forced up crimson oil to my mouth, even as I was coughing. I shut down some of my functions to replicate the mild paralysis, which regrettably resulted in passing out. Recreating the blindness was the easiest one. I simply shut down the functionality of my eyes.”

“I see.” Zero said. “So where’s the original body?”

“Preserved.” Mecha Mario said. “Even though I am now a reploid, I did not want to let go of my past. My old body is carefully preserved and hidden in the very experimenting room in which I committed myself to this.”

He held his arms up in a praising manner, addressing the crowd as well as Zero. “I am living proof that immortality is achievable.” he said loudly. “I can defeat Galeem and Dharkon, for good. No matter how badly they break me, I will just rebuild myself. This is the future of Super Smash Brothers.”

He lowered his arms and stared at Zero.

“I am…” he said softly. “...inevitable.”


	19. A Second Mandalorian

Several weeks after the revealing of Mecha Mario, the Surviving Fighters heard a ship landing outside.

“Who’s outside?” Falco asked.

“Maybe it’s someone who will help us in the fight.” Asahi said as she pulled up the security footage. “There’s some kind of starship outside. There’s a man in silver battle armor. Mister Sans, Miss Isabeau, Mister Fett, could you three head outside and greet our new guest?”

Sans, Isabeau, and Boba all headed outside, Boba giving Asahi a nod of acceptance.

When they got outside, the man in silver armor gestured to Boba.

“I recognize you.” he said.

“That makes one of us.” Boba said. “Because I don’t know who you are.”

“You’re Boba Fett. A bounty hunter, and a Mandalorian.” the armored man said. “Like me.”

Boba started to slowly walk toward him. “No. I’m not like you. Every Mandalorian is unique in his or her own right.”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t have similarities.” the Mandalorian said.

“We’re Mandalorians, and we’re bounty hunters.” Boba said. “That’s all we have in common. Why are you even here?”

“Inside.” the Mandalorian said.

Boba looked at Isabeau and Sans.

“Gets frustratingly cold sometimes.” Sans said. “Don’t want it to happen while we’re out here.”

Isabeau only shrugged.

Boba turned back to the Mandalorian. “Follow us.”

They guided the Mandalorian inside.

“Have a seat.” Boba said, gesturing to one of the tables.

He and the Mandalorian sat down at the table opposite each other.

“So tell me.” Boba said. “Why are you here?”

The Mandalorian didn’t say anything, but placed two bounty pucks on the table.

They both activated, one showing a hologram of Incineroar, the other showing a hologram of  **Boba Fett himself** .

“Why is there a bounty on  **my** head?” Boba asked.

“Don’t care. I’ve found the acquisitions. That was my job. Now I have to deliver you and the cat, and get the paycheck.”

“Surely there’s an option of some kind.” Boba said.

“Oh, there is.” the Mandalorian said. “I can bring you in warm…”

He pulled out a blaster and pointed it at Boba. “...or I can bring you in cold.”

Boba said nothing.

“So what’ll it be?”

Boba hesitated for a second before punching the Mandalorian in the helmet, sending him flying out of his chair.

“Damn…” Boba muttered as he massaged his hand. “Never doing that again.”

The Mandalorian got up rapidly and began firing his blaster.

“Gonna need some breathing room.” Boba said to himself, glancing at the door, which was still open.

He briefly hesitated before running out the door, which gave the Mandalorian just enough time to grapple his legs together with a thin cable.

A grunt escaped Boba’s mouth as he slammed face-first into the ground.

He could feel himself being pulled toward the doorway.

Right as he was halfway in the door, the Mandalorian shot the door controls.

Boba slung his carbine off his back and held it up, propping the door and forcing it open, preventing it from severing his legs from his body.

Taking just a moment to breathe, he rolled inside right as the door tore the carbine in two pieces as it finally shut.

Twisting his body to dodge the Mandalorian’s blaster shots, Boba pulled out a knife and cut the cable, and felt his fur cape rip as he stood up.

Boba grabbed the nearest weapon--a Beam Sword--and ignited it, just in time to deflect another blaster shot toward the floor.

The Mandalorian pulled out his blaster rifle, activating the EMP spear tip at the end of the barrel.

Boba had done some sword sparring before, but he had never done it against a spear user, much less an EMP spear user. But he quickly realized that a spear was basically a sword with a long hilt, under the right perspective.

So Boba tried to goad the Mandalorian into doing sweeping strikes no different from swords. It worked, but eventually the Mandalorian switched modes on the rifle and shot Boba in the torso.

He fell to one knee, dropping the Beam Sword and clutching his chest armor where the shot had struck him.

He looked up, and the Mandalorian had his hand extended toward him.

“Why are you helping me?” Boba asked, confused. “You bested me. I am not worthy of your time.”

“Even though the battle ended in your defeat, you still proved to me that you can fight with utmost honor.” the Mandalorian.

“Honor?” Boba asked.

“‘Strength is life, for the strong have the right to rule.’” the Mandalorian said, reciting the Mandalorian Code. “‘Honor is life, for with no honor, one may as well be dead.’”

“‘Loyalty is life, for without one’s clan one has no purpose.’” Boba said as he took the Mandalorian’s hand, pulling himself to his feet.

“‘Death is life. One should die as they have lived.’” they said in unison.

The Mandalorian nodded. “This is the Way.”

“This is the Way.” Boba said.

“I still have to bring in the cat, but at least I can try and convince my client to remove the bounty on your head.” the Mandalorian said. “Hunting Mandalorians is bad business.”

“What’s the payout?” Boba asked without thinking.

“It used to be at 4.2 billion dollars, but now it’s at 6.8 billion.”

“Oh, my god.” Boba remarked. “Why does everyone want Incineroar?”

“Perhaps you can help me. I can give you half the bounty.” the Mandalorian said.

Boba hesitated before speaking. “He’s in no condition to be transported.” he said.

“In that case, I will stay until he can be delivered.”

Boba remained silent. Technically, he wasn’t wrong. But he had to figure out how he was going to tell the Mandalorian in a way that wouldn’t enrage him. This particular warrior was known for his temper.

“Are you two going to put the weapons away?” Asahi asked, breaking his thought process momentarily.

Boba sheathed the Beam Sword as the Mandalorian slung his rifle onto his back and holstered his pistol.

“I heard some say that Incineroar was stabbed by a reploid named Zero. Whether or not Incineroar survived remains to be seen.”

“My client says that the asset, Incineroar, is to be delivered  **alive** .” the Mandalorian said. “Death was not an option. I come back with remains, or worse, empty-handed, I don’t get paid.”

“I thought you broke the guild rules.” Boba said. “You thought your Mandalorian honor took priority over your Guild honor.”

The Mandalorian looked at Boba. “Is that wrong?”

“If it  **is** wrong…” Boba said, pointing a finger at him. “...don’t ever be right.”

“I suppose.”

“Don’t you have the kid with you?” Boba asked. “The kid whose species’ name is long-forgotten.”

“That kid?” the Mandalorian asked. “Yeah. I’ve begun to call him Baby Yoda, after the former Grand Master of the Jedi Order.”

As if on cue, Baby Yoda slowly dropped off of the Mandalorian’s back.

“Oh my god,  **it’s so cute** !” Asahi said, walking over to him.

Baby Yoda looked at Asahi and clung to the Mandalorian’s leg.

“Take it easy, Asahi.” Boba said. “Baby Yoda is probably clingy. He probably only sees this Mandalorian as his father, though he seems to have warmed up to me somewhat quickly.”

“That’s because you look like me.” the Mandalorian said.

Baby Yoda looked up at Boba and held his arms up toward him.

Boba couldn’t help smiling as he picked up the kid and held him in his arms.

Mecha Mario and Zero walked out of one of the other rooms. “We got ourselves a situation.”

“That being?” the Mandalorian asked.

“Primids. A whole boatload.” Mecha Mario said. “More than the Three Little Savages used to take down in a  **month** , and they fought Primids every single day.”

The Surviving Fighters got their gear together, but when they went outside, they saw more than just Primids.

**Entire Master Hands and Crazy Hands** were being formed right there in front of the Surviving Fighters Base.

“They’ve finally sniffed us out.” Mecha Mario said. “Now we beat the stuffing out of them.”


	20. The Rise of Dragmire

The Surviving Fighters fought savagely, but without Incineroar, it seemed that their cause was finally gone.

Just as they were cornered, the sky began to glow crimson, and fire rained down, scorching the Subspace Army.

“ **Fight back** !” they heard. “ **Your king commands you** !”

Invigorated by this new voice, the Surviving Fighters ran toward the remaining Primids, Master Hands, and Crazy Hands, their power levels flying off the charts.

The figure who had called himself king leapt off of the cliff to join the battle.

The Mandalorian turned to the newcomer. “Oh damn…”

“What are you-” Mecha Mario said. “Oh, mamma-mia.”

Ganondorf surveyed the battlefield he was now a part of. “These enemies are laughable. How are you doing so poorly?”

“Our best fighter is out of commission.” Mecha Mario said. “We’ve had to make do without him.”

“Then I suppose I shall fill his role until he has returned.” Ganondorf said. “Hopefully you’ll accept this.”

Mecha Mario nodded. “The more, the merrier.”

With Ganondorf on their side, the Surviving Fighters easily beat back the Primids, but the Master Hands and Crazy Hands were still an issue, and more were still being made.

After hours of fighting (and four more uses of the Triforce of Power) the army was beaten back.

Suddenly the Primids arose from the ground, their bodies glowing with gold auras.

“What is this?!” Varia Man shouted.

No matter how much they dealt to the newly-awakened Primids, they kept coming.

“Surrender.” they heard.

Galeem herself appeared over the battlefield. “I did not think I would need to arrive at the battlefield myself, but you have left me no choice.”

Before Galeem could notice, Mecha Mario took up his human form, keeping his true identity a secret from the overlord of light.

He rapidly climbed up the cliffside the base was hidden inside and leapt at Galeem. “Your end is now!” he screamed.

Galeem was huge, but that did not intimidate Mecha Mario, as he leapt on Galeem’s metal wings to get closer to her central golden eye.

When he was close enough, he ignited his Beam Sword and leapt at Galeem’s eye.

The entire Beam Sword, hilt and everything, shattered upon contact with the eye.

The explosion hurled Mecha Mario back to the ground.

“My powers have grown since we last fought.” Galeem said. “No Smash Brawler can do harm to me.”

She sighed. “It pains me to say this, but it appears that for there to be order, those who resist order must die.”

“We have our own lives.” Falco said. “We choose our own fates. We are not under anyone’s control.”

“ **Lies** !” Galeem abruptly snapped, mildly shaking the ground. “Your ‘lives’ are nothing more than a code in a video game! And this tale of the ‘apocalypse’ is nothing more than words on a screen! You have no real control!”

Galeem took a breath, then continued, “Have you ever stopped to think about it? Who’s  **really** in control, you? Master Hand? Tabuu? Me or Dharkon? No. None of us really have a say in what happens to any of us here. I didn’t have a choice in whether I believed what I said or not. Hell, I didn’t even have a choice in whether I even wanted to  **say** those words or not. There’s a figure of higher authority than us. We’re merely puppets of his will. No one can escape. Any wrench he decides to throw in our lives will be thrown in at any point he damn well pleases. He is likely going to tell this story to others like him. Others who see this as just a story, nothing more.”

“Not all of them will see the story like that.” Nanashi objected. “Some may see it as possibly  **canonical** events to Super Smash Bros.”

“That may be true, Godslayer, given that members of any species will try to be their own individual, but it will not fully excuse my point, just as my point won’t fully excuse yours.” Galeem said. “Nevertheless, order must be maintained. And it is I who will crush all those who resist.”

Galeem prepared a blast of light to consume the Surviving Fighters when a lavender beam smashed into her.

“What?!” she said, looking at who fired it.

An evil laugh erupted from nowhere as a crack appeared in the sky.

The crack exploded into a hole, revealing complete darkness. The evil laugh grew louder.

“It can’t be…” Galeem said. “I thought I imprisoned you!”

Dharkon slipped through the hole to face Galeem. “Galeem. It’s been a long time.”

“Go back to the prison where you have remained.” Galeem ordered. “I will deal with you once the ‘Surviving Fighters’ are taken care of.”

Dharkon ignored Galeem, turning to the Surviving Fighters. “There are more of you alive than I first expected. And we even have some newcomers.”

He gestured toward them. “Nanashi, Mandalorian, Zero, Boba Fett, I welcome you all to Super Smash Brothers.”

Zero thought he saw a figure on top of the hill holding the Surviving Fighters base, but when he turned to look, the figure disappeared.

“Dharkon, this is no time for a welcome.” Galeem snapped.

“Picky, picky!” Dharkon taunted. “I thought the angel of light would be more inviting.”

“Not when potential devastation is involved.” Galeem responded. “Plus, you don’t know how I’d act.”

“I think I do.” Dharkon responded.

The figure appeared again.

“ **NOW** !” everyone heard.

Tabuu appeared and unleashed a telekinetic blast against Galeem and Dharkon.

“Lord Tabuu, why?!” Galeem said. “Why are you siding with them?!”

“Let’s just say that I bonded with one of the newer fighters.” Tabuu said.

He turned to the Surviving Fighters. “Perfect Attendance Crew, gather here to me!” he commanded.

Mecha Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Pikachu, Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, and Jigglypuff began to glow cyan as they flew to Tabuu.

“Where is Fox?” Tabuu asked.

“He didn’t make it.” Link said. “I watched Galeem pierce him with one of her metal wings during our last fight against her and Dharkon.”

“A minor setback.” Tabuu said. “Falco, can you stand in Fox’s place?”

A cyan aura appeared around Falco, and he flew to Tabuu, floating in Fox’s place.

Tabuu nodded, then addressed the twelve fighters. “All of you clap your hands on my mark.”

Galeem flew at Tabuu, hoping to stop him here and now. Dharkon remained motionless.

“Now!”

As one, the twelve fighters clapped their hands, unleashing a flash of pure white light that Galeem could not replicate and Dharkon could not eradicate.

When it was gone, a miracle happened.


	21. Everyone is Here

“Guys, look up there!” Wario said, pointing to the hill holding the Surviving Fighters base.

A mass of people, some human, most not, jumped down from the hill and assembled a defensive line, with several objects flying overhead.

Three Arwings flew down from the sky. Fox and two Inklings leapt out of them.

King Dedede flew down on the Warp Star, Meta Ridley quickly flying close behind.

Mr. Game & Watch parachuted down from Meta Knight’s battleship, the  _ Halberd _ , carrying Sonic the Hedgehog and Darth Vader with him.

The  _ UNSC Pillar of Autumn _ appeared, with Master Chief and Dark Samus launching from them.

“Not all of them are Smash Brawlers…” Link remarked. “We’re getting fighters from  _ everywhere _ in this known universe.”

Varia Man transformed, the suit his AI inhabited transforming into Mega Man’s iconic robot body.

Incineroar leapt down from the hill, landing next to Zero.

“Good to see you again.” Zero said. “You ready to fight together?”

Incineroar nodded. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

Pit and Dark Pit flew onto the scene, followed closely by Palutena, Hades, and Viridi.

Bowser erupted from the ground, carrying Bowser Jr. and the seven Koopalings.

A colony of bats flew into the scene before transforming into Bayonetta, who landed cleanly on her high heels as she pulled out her angel-disintegrating pistols.

Proto Man launched from the top of the hill, joined by Fire Man, Ice Man, and Elec Man.

Joker arrived on the scene in his signature van, and The Hero, Banjo-Kazooie, Piranha Plant, Ryu, Ken, and Terry climbed out.

Incineroar tossed several Poke Balls in the air, releasing Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, Primarina, Decidueye, and Typhlosion.

Mewtwo appeared, landing near the Three Little Savages.

Sans opened a Shortcut to the Underworld, and Frisk, Chara, Papyrus, Gaster, Undyne, Asgore, Toriel, and Asriel stepped through.

Every single character from every single franchise assembled in the battlefield.

The Original Eight flew down and stood at the front of the  **massive** army that had gathered, and Tabuu floated above it.

Mecha Mario turned off his disguise, revealing his reploid form.

Zero handed Mecha Mario his laser blade.

Mecha Mario took a deep breath. “ **YIBAMBE** !” he screamed.

“ **YIBAMBE** !” the Surviving Fighters shouted in response.

“ **YIBAMBE** !” Mecha Mario screamed again.

“ **YIBAMBE** !” the Surviving Fighters shouted again.

The chant continued for several minutes before Mecha Mario held the laser blade with his right hand high above his head.

“ **SURVIVING FIGHTERS** !” he screamed.

He ignited the laser blade. “ **UNITE** !”


	22. The Final Battle

As one, the united Surviving Fighters combatted the Subspace Army created by Galeem.

“Galeem, focus on creating new Primids and Master Hands that are stronger and faster! I’ll strengthen those that already exist!” Dharkon yelled through the chaos.

“Why should I do that for you?!” Galeem snapped back.

“You were always better at creating armies than me!” Dharkon yelled. “I only knew how to destroy them!”

“On that, we agree.” Galeem said to herself. She began creating more Primids and Master Hands as the battle raged on below.

Ryu hurled a Scope Primid over his shoulder, which was redirected by Marth’s counter before being impaled by Chesnaught’s move Spiky Shield.

“Keep it up!” Chesnaught yelled as he flew upward using something similar to Bowser’s move Whirling Fortress, shredding two Sword Primids and a Fire Primid.

Marth abruptly turned around and unleashed his Dancing Blade on a Master Hand before finishing it off with his Dolphin Strike.

The Master Hand exploded, sending gold particles gently floating to the ground.

“Gonna need a Revenge stack here!” Incineroar shouted.

“On it!” Chesnaught shouted, and proceeded to fire a Wood Hammer at the ex-Blue Heel.

Incineroar absorbed the strike, then grabbed a falling Falchion and impaled a Primid, tearing it to shreds due to the Revenge stack.

“Not too shabby, Incineroar.” Lucina said, leaping over a Fire Primid trying to get back up.

“Thanks. Never quite used a sword before.” he responded as he tossed the Falchion back.

Lucina caught it and quickly plunged it into the Fire Primid’s head. “Just out of curiosity, how were you able to wield the Falchion? I thought only members of the royal bloodline could use it.”

“Chrom trained my father, remember?” Incineroar said as he grabbed a Scope Primid’s throat. “The Falchion must think we’re siblings or something.”

He clenched the Scope Primid’s throat so hard it exploded, spewing its guts everywhere. “It makes sense, doesn’t it? My father was adopted into a royal bloodline, so the Falchion adapts to include my family as well.”

Lucina nodded. “Now, where were we?”

Incineroar knelt down, hands firmly clasped together near the ground.

Lucina ran up to him and leapt off his hands. At the same time, Incineroar reared his hands up, giving Lucina enough of a boost to destroy three Master Hands in a single Dolphin Strike that, with Incineroar’s help, went double the distance.

She landed on Falco’s Arwing, and he took her to another section of the battlefield where Samus, Asriel, Darth Vader, and Luigi were surrounded, and she proceeded to get them out of their sticky situation.

Vader used the Force to bring down a Master Hand that would otherwise have crushed Lucina into a pulp, then he hurled that Master Hand into the sky where it was shot down by the  _ UNSC Pillar of Autumn _ .

Vader then turned around and blocked a strike from a Sword Primid, with whom he engaged in a duel before the Sword Primid was blown to shreds by Dark Samus.

“Dark Samus!” she heard from King Dedede. “Over here!”

Knowing what the King meant, Dark Samus fired a Charge Shot at him, which King Dedede inhaled, then spat out at Incineroar, who absorbed the Charge Shot and used Cross Chop on a Master Hand with a Roturret on its back, annihilating both.

Dharkon shook his head angrily. “We need some Boom Primids, Galeem! Where are they?”

“Dharkon, you read my mind!” Galeem said before releasing a massive batch of Boom Primids. “Here they come! And I’ll throw in some R.O.B. units too!”

A mix of R.O.B. Sentries, Launchers, and Blasters dropped alongside the Boom Primids, effectively balancing the war below them.

Suddenly Galeem felt her wings being grabbed by Tabuu. “What do you think you’re doing, creating units for  **my** army?” Tabuu said to her. “Not the most creative idea for someone of your wisdom and intelligence.”

“It’s not your army anymore.” Galeem retorted. “You abandoned Subspace, leaving your throne up for grabs. I control your army now.”

Galeem’s metal wings slashed at Tabuu’s arms, forcing him to let go of her.

“I’m in control now.” she said as she turned toward Tabuu, not noticing the shadow behind her.

“Are you?” Tabuu asked. “You said it yourself--a figure of higher authority controls our very actions. We have no hope of rebelling against her.”

“Are you assuming the figure’s gender?” Galeem snapped.

“And you haven’t been?” Tabuu countered. “You called the figure ‘he’  **several** times. Don’t throw me under the bus for assuming the figure’s gender when you do the same thing.”

“Now is not the time for this. Let’s just call the figure ‘it’ and end this stupid conversation.” Galeem said, eager to get back to making her army.

“Yes.” Tabuu said. “Let us end this.  **Now** !”

Galeem barely was able to let out a gasp before she was abruptly wrapped in chains, her metal wings being pulled apart. She screamed in pain.

“The deed is done, Tabuu.” Dharkon said from behind her. “Galeem is helpless. I shall bring the Godslayer to her. We shall have  **him** finish the job we started long before the apocalypse began.”

Tabuu nodded, turning to the battlefield. “Godslayer!” he shouted, getting Nanashi’s attention.

“Lower your tentacle toward him.” Tabuu instructed Dharkon.

He obliged, his tentacle extending toward the Tokyian Godslayer.

Nanashi climbed on, clutching his sword, and Dharkon raised him toward Galeem.

“Galeem is at your mercy, Godslayer. She is the source of the apocalypse.” Tabuu said.

“What?” Galeem said, shocked.

“She’s also a real pain in the neck, but that goes without saying.” Dharkon retorted.

“Galeem said it herself, Godslayer.” Tabuu said. “She cannot be destroyed by a Smash Brawler. You are not a Smash Brawler. You can save this dimension.”

“Live up to your name, Godslayer. Save our world.” Dharkon said.

“Please...no...” Galeem managed. “Don’t do this, Nanashi. Please, I am at your mercy. Do what you wish. Just...spare me! That’s all I ask. Spare me, I beg of you!”

“I’ll make it easier for you.” Dharkon said, lowering Nanashi so that he was only a few feet in front of Galeem’s eye, which had lost nearly all of its glow. “Do it.”

Nanashi didn’t move.

Using her only free wing, Galeem slowly wrapped Nanashi in a gentle hug.

After a few seconds, the wing retracted. “It’s up to you, Nanashi.” Galeem said somberly. “If you choose to kill me, I’m ready.”

Nanashi raised his sword above his head, and Galeem braced herself.

He severed her chains, which tumbled to the ground.

“ **What** ?!” Dharkon said, abruptly dropping Nanashi, but the Godslayer only fell about fifteen feet before landing on Galeem’s wing.

“I gotcha.” the angel of light said.

“ **Traitor** !” Dharkon screamed. “You had the chance to save the world, and you  **wasted** it!” he said, getting too close to them for Nanashi’s comfort.

“No, I didn’t.” Nanashi said, slashing Dharkon’s eye.

Dharkon  **SCREAMED** , his body completely dissipating.

The Subspace Army rapidly weakened, their source of strength no longer existing. The Surviving Fighters quickly destroyed them, then turned their attention to Tabuu.

“I must take my leave.” Tabuu said.

He vanished before Nanashi could consider leaping at him.

“You chose to save the world the way you wanted to.” Galeem said. “How did you make that choice?”

Nanashi turned around to face the goddess whose life he had just saved. “I just did what I thought was the right thing.”

“If only that was so easy for the rest of us.” Galeem said.

She lowered him to the ground.

“Now, let’s get set on ending this apocalypse, and restoring Super Smash Brothers.” Galeem said to the victorious army. “Who’s with me?!”

The Surviving Fighters cheered.

Galeem began to glow brighter. She knew that whether or not they finished their work, the apocalypse had just ended at that moment.


	23. Tabuu's Master

Tabuu reappeared in a dark sanctuary lit by torches.

He walked up to a throne and bent down to one knee.

“Dharkon is dead, my lady.” Tabuu said to the queen, who was shrouded in shadows. “Galeem has set the Surviving Fighters to restore the world to the way it was. We must initiate Alpha Zero.”

The queen placed a hand to her chin. “One would think that setting up this apocalypse would finally convince Galeem to allow me to join Smash Brothers.”

She pounded her armrest. “I wouldn’t care if I was just an echo fighter! I’d be  **in** !  **I’d be in Super Smash Brothers** !”

“My lady, calm down.” Tabuu calmly insisted without standing up. “You don’t plan well when you’re angry.”

The queen sighed. “You’re right. Thanks, Tabuu. Yes, I agree with you. Initiate Alpha Zero. If Galeem does not die, then  **kill her yourself** .”

“As you wish, my lady.” Tabuu said, standing up to leave.

“One last thing.” the queen said, coming out of the shadows.

Tabuu turned around, awaiting his new command. “Yes, my lady?”

“Bring the one who killed Dharkon to me.” she snarled.

“As you wish, my lady.” Tabuu said, bowing.

She watched the king of subspace leave.

When he finally left, she broke out into an evil laugh. “Now Galeem, and all of Super Smash Brothers, will finally feel the wrath...of Bowsette.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Tabuu will return.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought this was a solo story? Nope! First book of a five-part series! Also yes, I went the Bowsette route. I personally liked the Bowsette meme, don't @ me.
> 
> In all seriousness, though, she will have a MASSIVE part to play, not just in the second book, but for the rest of the series.


End file.
